What people believe about detecting infectious disease using the senses
Do you believe you can tell if people are sick with infectious diseases by looking at, listening to, or smelling them? Research on pathogen detection and avoidance suggests that perceivers respond with caution both to true signs of infection and to cues only heuristically associated with infection t...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2020-08-01
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| Series: | Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666622720300022 |
| _version_ | 1818984596861091840 |
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| author | Joshua M. Ackerman Wilson N. Merrell Soyeon Choi |
| author_facet | Joshua M. Ackerman Wilson N. Merrell Soyeon Choi |
| author_sort | Joshua M. Ackerman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Do you believe you can tell if people are sick with infectious diseases by looking at, listening to, or smelling them? Research on pathogen detection and avoidance suggests that perceivers respond with caution both to true signs of infection and to cues only heuristically associated with infection threat. But what do perceivers actually believe about the effectiveness and use of specific sensory modalities for infection detection? In several studies, U.S. participants reported perceptions of effectiveness and likelihood of using each of the major senses to identify infection threat in two types of targets: people and food. Results revealed prioritization of sight and sound with person targets and prioritization of sight and smell with food targets. These patterns appear consistent with the use of “safe senses” (avoidance of cues involving high perceived transmission risk). Beliefs about sensory use also varied depending on the specific feature being examined, with different patterns of sensory beliefs associated with evaluation of pathogenic danger than with evaluation of desirability and fit with normative standards. We discuss these lay beliefs in the context of recent calls for descriptive research in psychology as well as their implications for current and future work on the behavioral immune system. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T18:21:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9ef864670391421c8fb01aeb649d405a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2666-6227 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T18:21:31Z |
| publishDate | 2020-08-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-9ef864670391421c8fb01aeb649d405a2022-12-21T19:30:14ZengElsevierCurrent Research in Ecological and Social Psychology2666-62272020-08-011100002What people believe about detecting infectious disease using the sensesJoshua M. Ackerman0Wilson N. Merrell1Soyeon Choi2Corresponding author at: Department of Psychology, 530 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1043, United States; University of Michigan, United StatesUniversity of Michigan, United StatesUniversity of Michigan, United StatesDo you believe you can tell if people are sick with infectious diseases by looking at, listening to, or smelling them? Research on pathogen detection and avoidance suggests that perceivers respond with caution both to true signs of infection and to cues only heuristically associated with infection threat. But what do perceivers actually believe about the effectiveness and use of specific sensory modalities for infection detection? In several studies, U.S. participants reported perceptions of effectiveness and likelihood of using each of the major senses to identify infection threat in two types of targets: people and food. Results revealed prioritization of sight and sound with person targets and prioritization of sight and smell with food targets. These patterns appear consistent with the use of “safe senses” (avoidance of cues involving high perceived transmission risk). Beliefs about sensory use also varied depending on the specific feature being examined, with different patterns of sensory beliefs associated with evaluation of pathogenic danger than with evaluation of desirability and fit with normative standards. We discuss these lay beliefs in the context of recent calls for descriptive research in psychology as well as their implications for current and future work on the behavioral immune system.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666622720300022SensationBehavioral immune systemThreat detectionLay beliefsPathogen threat |
| spellingShingle | Joshua M. Ackerman Wilson N. Merrell Soyeon Choi What people believe about detecting infectious disease using the senses Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology Sensation Behavioral immune system Threat detection Lay beliefs Pathogen threat |
| title | What people believe about detecting infectious disease using the senses |
| title_full | What people believe about detecting infectious disease using the senses |
| title_fullStr | What people believe about detecting infectious disease using the senses |
| title_full_unstemmed | What people believe about detecting infectious disease using the senses |
| title_short | What people believe about detecting infectious disease using the senses |
| title_sort | what people believe about detecting infectious disease using the senses |
| topic | Sensation Behavioral immune system Threat detection Lay beliefs Pathogen threat |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666622720300022 |
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